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Nuggets' Ujiri headed to Raptors

Denver GM reaches $15 million deal with Toronto

By Benjamin Hochman The Denver Post

Posted:
05/31/2013 10:48:02 PM MDT

Updated:
05/31/2013 10:48:14 PM MDT

DENVER -- The Nuggets entered the 2012-13 season with the third-youngest roster and ended up finishing third in the NBA's Western Conference. Heading into next season, they'll be without one of their most-important cogs.

No, not Andre Iguodala, who has yet to make a decision on his future, but general manager Masai Ujiri, who announced Friday he's leaving the Nuggets to take the general manager's job with the Toronto Raptors.

Ujiri had been weighing offers from the Raptors and Nuggets for the past week. Ending perhaps the craziest turn-of-events at Pepsi Center since the Carmelo Anthony trade, Ujiri is headed to his old team for what Yahoo sports reported is a 5-year, $15 million contract.

Nuggets president Josh Kroenke was stung by the loss of a friend and someone he worked closely with the past three years.

"Obviously Masai is a big loss for the organization. However, his departure doesn't change anything about my intense desire for success moving forward," Kroenke told The Denver Post on Friday night. "We have an outstanding young roster and I fully expect us to continue to compete at an incredibly high level moving forward. Fifty-seven wins is a tremendous accomplishment, especially for a young team. But make no mistake, we want more and we won't stop trying until we reach championship caliber.

"That's my goal and I know I speak for all of our players and coaches when I say that is their goal too.

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The Nuggets had anticipated that Ujiri would stay with the organization because he has a strong relationship with Kroenke. The duo had an agreement in principle to a contract extension heading into this past season, but no contract was signed. When the Raptors came calling, and offered huge money the Nuggets were unwilling to match, it left Ujiri with the chance to make his mark in a new city with an old friend, executive Bryan Colangelo.

The Nuggets historically have not paid big money to their front-office executives. Despite that history, they've made the playoffs every season since 2003. Mark Warkentien won the executive of the year awardin 2009 and Ujiri won it earlier this month after the Nuggets won 57 regular season games. Denver was ousted in the first round of the playoffs.

So what's next for the Nuggets' front office?

It's possible the team could promote Ujiri's right-hand man, Pete D'Alessandro, though it's unclear at this point if Ujiri will lure him to Toronto. D'Alessandro is well respected throughout the league, and Ujiri has joked in news conferences that he doesn't like to praise D'Alessandro in public, wary that another team would steal him away. Mike Bratz is also well-respected within the organization -- the former NBA player runs Denver's scouting program and was instrumental in the team scouting and ultimately acquiring Ty Lawson out of North Carolina. Also, current Cleveland Cavaliers assistant GM David Griffin was a candidate for the job in 2010.

Whomever Denver hires will inherit a talented team built by Ujiri and Kroenke. But the new executive will also have to deal with the looming Iguodala situation. The Denver guard, set to make $16 million next season, could opt out of his deal and become a free agent to seek a long-term deal with Denver, or another team.

Ujiri, 42, joined the Nuggets in the summer of 2010 after being an assistant general manager in Toronto. He arrived in the Mile High City and was given a daunting task -- trade Anthony. The superstar had demanded a trade to New York City, and Ujiri and Kroenke spent the next six months orchestrating the biggest trade in franchise history.

Instead of rebuilding, the Nuggets scooped up numerous young, proven talents and added cap space and draft picks as well. Ten players on the 2012-13 roster joined Denver either directly from the trade or because of assets gathered in the trade.

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